P2Y Receptor

P2Y receptors are a class of G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs) activated by extracellular nucleotides (ATP, UTP, and UDP). There are eight mammalian P2Y receptor subtypes (P2Y₁, P2Y₂, P2Y₄, P2Y₆, P2Y₁₁, P2Y₁₂, P2Y₁₃, and P2Y₁₄). The P2Y receptors are expressed in various cell types and play important roles in physiology and pathophysiology including inflammatory responses and neuropathic pain.

The P2Y family can be further divided into a subfamily of five P2Y₁, P2Y₂, P2Y₄, P2Y₆, and P2Y₁₁Rs (“P2Y₁-like”) that stimulate phospholipase C (PLC) through G_q protein and a second subfamily of P2Y₁₂, P2Y₁₃, and P2Y₁₄Rs (“P2Y₁₂-like”) that inhibit adenylate cyclase through G_i protein. Other effector pathways have been documented, such as coupling of the P2Y₁₁R to G_s as well as to G_q in some cells to induce stimulation of cyclic AMP production.